Grant Writing Made Easy: Transforming Words Into Actions

Are you lost for words in expressing your thoughts and ideas?

When was the last time you get an "A" for writing an essay?

Writing skill is a gift. It is a challenge to write compelling articles, poems, proposals, and other write-ups that connect with the readers' emotions and opinions.

Your Portfolio

Writing a proposal is a daunting task. Each funder provides specific guidelines to ensure that funds are to be used for meaningful causes. Grant is a financial aid provided by the government, foundations, individuals, and charitable institutions to cater to the needs of various underprivileged people or groups of people. It is a funding opportunity that has no interest and does not require payment. Proposals, however, should be submitted on or before the specified date for assessment. Apart from charitable organizations and educational facilities, financial aid may also be awarded to established non-profit organizations. These are affiliated groups that provide services to uphold the lives of less fortunate individuals from targeted communities. Among their tasks include:

- Meeting the needs of state or private sector

- Assisting the government in achieving developmental objectives

- Devoting time, skills, and expertise to vulnerable groups

- Providing trainings and/or services among less privileged individuals to uphold their roles in the community

Each year, hundreds of grant applications are submitted to different governmental agencies and private foundations. So, it is equally important to establish a positive impression not only to obtain financial assistance and capture potential funders' attention, but also establish its impact on the community. Well, it doesn't take a genius to accomplish a winning proposal. Grant writing is now made easy with these helpful tips:

- Read and understand the funding opportunity announcement (FOA)

- Identify the needs of your community

- Establish/formulate a specific plan

- Emphasize significant points of the project

- Set realistic goals and objectives

- Specify and elaborate methodology and program designs

- Discuss who would benefit from the project

- Provide a detailed information about the organization

- Include financial information and itemized budget plan.

A proposal has different sections. Each is equally important not only to achieve optimal success, but also to establish credibility, particularly in addressing individual and/or organizations' needs.

- Executive Summary. A well-written abstract entails significant details that convince reviewers. It has to relate reports and facts, concise analysis, and conclusion that give readers a glimpse of the project.

- Need Assessment. This part explains the importance of the request. It defines good project ideas, techniques, and potential risks to establish priorities for future actions.

- Goals and Objectives. It is significant to identify the goals and objectives of your request so as not only to communicate the overall purpose of an organization but also to suggest helpful steps and/or plans.

- Methods, Strategies, and Program Design. While goals and objectives provide the importance of your request, program designs and strategies convey best practices necessary in achieving the purpose of the proposed project.

- Budget Plan. It is considered as one of the most important sections because it provides a detailed budget requirement and justification to ensure that financial aid is to be used for its intended purpose.

Yet despite the complexity of the process, still, it is not impossible to transform words into opportunities. This guide will surely help as grant writing has somewhat made easy.

Erin Millano has always been passionate to improve the quality of life of marginalized, low-income individuals, and families. She is a lobbyist, freelance photojournalist, and proposal writer.

Read more ...

Grant Writing for a Purpose: The Most Rewarding Career

While you may think that being assigned the task of writing a proposal is nothing different from handing relief goods to the needy, think again. The profession of grant writing for nonprofits is becoming more and more in demand as charities suffer from the economic downturn. They seek financial awards and they cannot do it without a professional who is good at persuading in black and white.

Before you turn down the idea of composing a proposal for others, you may reconsider it with these big advantages that always come along with the package:

1. There is Profit in Non Profits

Non profit is not synonymous to no money. The most common misconception that people put into the business is that picture of saintly men and women in white shirts who sacrificed their income and future just to hand food to starving children. While in some aspects, it might be true, remember that even the social workers are being paid for their time, and you guessed, even people who do the grant writing for these volunteers. For the record, proposal writers even have very competitive salaries compared to scribes of other genre.

2. Involving Yourself in a Cause Connects You To People

Being part of a group gives your life a bit of direction, especially if the group is dedicated to making a positive change. There is always something about belonging to a group with the same passion, and being able to speak for it. The type of work that the writers have takes you more than skin-deep corporate relationships. It develops genuine friendships open to self-expression.

3. It Keeps Your Physical and Mental Health in Good Condition

Not unless you're spending sleepless nights for 10 consecutive days just to finish the proposal. But mind you, if you strongly feel for the cause, you need not to stay up for too long to communicate your advocacy on paper. Whenever people expose themselves to humanity and the betterment of its condition, they tend to be less of the robotic, semi-cyborgs in the city. Imagine being part of a positive social change while you do something for a living. Now that is life.

4. It Develops Skills that can be Written on Your Resume

And what's more, preparing a funding application for nonprofits is never compulsory. Once you enter the job, it will be considered volunteering as well. And when you took the initiative to dedicate yourself for a cause, it adds up to your professional integrity. Credibility aside, you'll be exposed to different writing styles that can add up to your work history.

5. Nothing Tastes Better than Succeeding in Helping Others

Whichever makes you more stressed: in the office, crunching files and numbers; or outside, making humanity better. There is just something in feeling that the world has been a better place because of you. There is some high level of fulfillment upon making a charity project possible. Nothing is more rewarding to a person than making people's lives better despite the impossible circumstances.

If you think of it closely, grant writing for a noble cause can actually be a gold mine for your career and well being.

Erin Millano has always been passionate to improve the quality of life of marginalized, low-income individuals, and families. She is a lobbyist, freelance photojournalist, and proposal writer.

Read more ...

Grant Writing Degree and Why There Is No Such Thing

Read more ...

Grant Writing Advice: Taking a Higher Step

Read more ...

Writing a Grant Request: Are You Capable Enough?

A person or an organization who is requesting for financial or operational assistance should understand that creating a grant proposal is not easy. It is neither a simple composition nor a typical article or blog. It is made strategically to appeal for support or funds which are needed to accomplish or start a worthy project. Furthermore, in writing a grant request, applicants are demanded to be careful and meticulous. Not everyone could compose a professional proposal, believe me.

Be Sympathetic

In creating a proposal, you should always put yourself in the position of the client. What I mean about this is that, it is important to sympathize and understand the goals envisioned by the organization. If you don't feel the needs of the client, then your application would not be written well.

Assume that you are in their shoes to create an effective request. Once you have discerned these things, everything will work smoothly between you, your client, and your proposal. Having keen attention to details, as well as applying emotional persuasion techniques may also help.

Be Creative

Writing a grant request is far different from creative writing. Besides following a specific format, a proposal is more formal and direct. Composing a request must not only rely on your own opinion and view. You must be able to state the correct information about the project and your client.

Being creative, however, should not be synonymous to inventing facts. Instead, always base your proposal on the actual information provided by the client. If ever you have further questions, try to communicate with them. Make your proposal authentic and, at the same time, interesting.

Be Passionate

Not everyone has the passion to write. Being passionate is an important factor in producing a good proposal. In order to be effective and competitive, one must possess a willingness to do the project wholeheartedly.

There are applicants that can compose a proposal on his/her own. Writing a grant request may be difficult for you. However, there are those who ask someone to devise a proposal for them; someone who is skilled and knowledgeable in the fund application process.

Seek Help

Certainly, there are a lot of word-weaving services. But the question is: what makes a good service?

In order to determine the best in the field, you should make a thorough research about the service provider. It's good that you choose a professional writer who can strictly analyze the information you supply. Also he/she should have the capacity to keep an open communication line in case of follow-ups or additional instructions.

It would also be beneficial if you are provided with a list of potential funders that suit your qualifications. Having a list on hand will not only help you seek funds, but also assist you in ensuring that you only apply to appropriate funders.

If you are ready to apply for a service, be aware of the importance of submitting fully detailed pieces of information and specifications to your assigned writer. Remember that the success of your application is not only dependent on the capability of the writer, but also on the information you provide and supply for the project.

Erin Millano has always been passionate to improve the quality of life of marginalized, low-income individuals, and families. She is a lobbyist, freelance photojournalist, and proposal writer.

Read more ...

Guide to Grant Writing: The Key to Obtain Funding Assistance

Being kind wholeheartedly is but a human nature. People usually care a lot for other individuals. While some give donations to those hit by calamities, volunteer for worthwhile activities, and advocate various valuable causes; many, on the other hand, establish foundations to help non-profit organizations in the implementation of their programs and projects benefiting the underserved members of the population. For them, these acts are the true spirits of humanity.

United in One Mission

Donors, volunteers, and advocates all have something in common-they all have the initiative to lend a helping hand and the heart to alleviate human suffering.

Foundations are built with the primary aim to achieve their organizational mission of providing opportunities to all, to live their lives to the fullest, and to eventually attain a good community to live in.

Foundations assist through financial awards. To qualify for their assistance, all they require is a proposal that can justify the need for financial aid. Since there is no standard format in making a proposal, fund seekers frequently fail to get the award due to the document itself. With its significance, it is important that they follow a guide to grant writing for them to put their worthwhile plans into reality.

Key to Getting Funded

While there is no standard format in crafting the document, it is still better that to always adhere to the guidelines set by the funding institution. This simple adherence and compliance may convince funders to fund certain projects. Remember that they are very much particular with the things that they want to see in the document, as well as with the process to follow.

Apart from following the instructions, here are some of the other reminders in writing a proposal for an organization's project:

- Make sure that the mission and goals of the foundation match yours and revolve around the same focus of interest. Bear in mind that not all foundations are interested to fund any type of project. Some may particularly choose to help non-profits that assist one or more of the following segments of the population: low income families, the elderly, children or youth, students, women, and minorities.

- A guide to effective grant writing must include the sections that are also usually included in the request document. These sections include the introduction, organizational background, mission and vision statements and key personnel of the organization, needs assessment, goals and objectives, project significance, project methods and design, budget plan, timeline of activities, anticipated outcomes, cited references, and executive summary.

- Every proposal should come with letters. Not all funders require these but some of them want seekers to submit a letter of inquiry prior to the submission of the entire document. Some require letter of intent. Above all, it is important to always present the paper with a cover letter that summarizes the request.

- Do not forget to attach necessary documents, such as certificate of incorporation and by-laws, copy of the IRS' approval letter for the tax exempt status of the organization, audited financial statement for the last completed year, list of current budget and other possible sources of funding and their uses, list of supporters, letter of support or endorsements, brief biographies or resumes of the group's key personnel, and other files that may be required or specified by the funder.

As a final note, the organization should remember to always attach only those required by the funding institution. Customize these attachments based on their specifications, so that the application won't be disregarded. Lastly, submit the final output on time.

This article may be used as a helpful guide to grant writing in order to secure the demanded funding assistance of the organization.

Erin Millano has always been passionate to improve the quality of life of marginalized, low-income individuals, and families. She is a lobbyist, freelance photojournalist, and proposal writer.

Read more ...